Body suspension for vehicles



Sepf- 22, 1925.

- Jl W. MYERS lBODY SUSPENSION Fon VEHICLES kTiled oct. v', 1922 I gmenfa Jgselb Myers Patented Sept. 22, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENToFFlcELfj vJOSEPH w. MYERS, 0E JACKSON, MICHIGAN.

BODY SUSPENSION Eon VEHICLES.

Application filed October 7, 1922.v Serial' No. 593,046.

reference being vhad tothe accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relatesv to a method and apparatus for supporting vehicle bodies, and the immediate and special object ofmy im;- provements is to provide an improved means for suspending the bodies of automobiles, in. whichv special .connection vI lhave illustrated itin the accompanying drawing.

In automobiles as heretoforeconstructed the springs have twoV functions :gone to suspend the weight of the body and chassis,

the other to maintain said parts in their relative position to Vthe axle `or when displaced therefrom to restore them'to such position; An object of my invention is to separate these functions and lto provideapparatus to conserve each of, saidfunctions independently of the other. To lthisend I Support the weight of the 4body andchassis by a yielding resistance which does not vary its tension with the variation of the relativeposition of the load and the axle and which permits of free relative motion thereof and provide a resilient part which shall maintain the body and chassis, or load, in a relative position to the axle or restore it when displaced.

In a co-pending application filed in the United States Patent (lince, August 6, 1925, Serial No. 48,443, I have shown and claimed a spring the tension of which varies a very little with the distance between the load and axle, in combination with means for Vadjusting the initial tension of the spring.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is an elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention with so much of an automobile as is necessary to illustrate its connection therewith. The automobile is shown in rear elevation. Y

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of an aul tomobile with apparatus embodying my invention attached thereto. t a

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view showing 'is just balanced by the air pressure.

asupporting cylinderanda piston therein. j

Fig.' 4 is a vdetail elevation showing la modified form of apparatus embodying my invention. v v f Referring in the first place to Figs. l, 2 and 3, a indicates the body of an automobile and a2 a2 the chassis orv frame. dis the rear axle. c is a springwhich maybe of ordinary construction though of much less strength yand rigidity than isusually'used.

d CZ indicatel inverted cylinders securedfto i the frame a2with their lowerends open. d2 4 indicatesfa piston in each of said cylinders. Z3 1s a connecting rod joining the piston d2 and the axle of the automobile.' e is a reservoir of considerableV capacity. "de de are pipes or passages continually open andv connecting the cylinders Z al above the pistons Z2 therein with the tankfe.. 4The passages de are of sufficient capacity andare entirely unobstructed. findicates a reservoir lfor `comf pressed air. f3 is a pipe connecting the reservoirf with the-.reservoir cg, f? isa'reduclng valve 1n the connecting pipe f3. yf1 is a cock controlling a by-pass :by which aircan be admitted from the reservoir fto the res'- .Il

. ,The loperation y,of the! above described apparatus is as follows: Compressedair is supvervoir e witlioutpassing through the reduc- 'ingvalve f2. f v

.plied tothe reservoirsV vto -a pressure that shall just supportthe body andfchassis with its load. The reservoir 'e is so large relative tothepylinders that as the lchassisand body move up and down relative tothe axle, and therefore the pistons d2 move in the cylinders cl, the pressure of air above the pistons will not be substantially varied, so

that in all positions the load upon the axle Thus when the wheels pass over an obstruction or drop in a rut, the pressure upon the pistons drives the axle with its wheels downwardor permits them to rise, as thel casev may be, relative to the body aand chassis a2 without A varying so far-as this supporting .agency is concerned the force exerted upon the body.l

of the axles and the load supported thereon.

A reservoir of air under high compression may be carried and the pressure e in the reservoir c kept constant by a reducing valve or varied at will to vcorrespond to varying loads as desired.

Other forms of constant supporting ap-L paratus may be usedand I `have indicated' one in Fig. 4in which g g ggg indicate toggle .joint linkage extending between the load and the axle, or in this inst-ance between the two parts of an elliptical spring. z, is a spiral tension spring extending horizontally between the intermediate joints of the toggle linkage g.

It will be observed that in the-construction of F ig. 4L when the load descends the spring i will Abe extended and its tension increased but at the same time the leverage at which .it acts through the linkage will be d iminislie'd so'that al substantially constant resilient support is thereby provided.

Vhat I claim is: Y' l. In avehicle, the combination of an axle, a load to loe-supported on said axle, means intermediate said load and axle affording a substantially constant support to the load at different relative positions of the load and axle atV whatever rate the distance betweenA said load and axle inayfvary, and means acting to restore said load and axle to their normal relative positions whenever they ,varyv therefrom.

2.2The'inode of carrying a load upon a vehicle axle consisting in supporting the load bya -iiieaiis which exerts a substantially confstaiit force, and maintaining the load inV its positiony vertically relative to the axle by another means. Y v3. rIihe mode of carrying a load :upon a vehicle axle, consisting in supporting the load by a resilient resistance which does not substantially vary with the varying relative position of the load and axle and acting upon said load by a resilient force that is brought into action by every variation of the relative position of said load and axle.

L The combination of a vehicle body, an axle, a cylinder interposed between said body and axle, a piston insaid cylinder9 said piston being connected with the said axle and said cylinder with said body, a compressed air reservoir, continuously opten unobstructed passage between said cylinder and reservoir, and a spring that varies its tension with every variation of the relative position of the body and axle said spring being interposed `between Ysaid body and axle, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination of a vehicle body, an axle, a cylinder interposed between said body and axle, a piston in said cylinder, said piston being connected with the said axle and said cylinder with said body, a compressed air reservoir of great capacity, a continuously open unobstructed passage between said cylinder and reservoir, a spring thatvaries its'tension with every variation of the relative position of the body and axle'said'spring being interposed between said body-and axle, and means for varying the tensionof air iii said reservoir, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. In a vehicle, the combination of an axle, a load to be supported on said axle, means intermediate said load and axle affording a substantially constant support to the loadv as the relative positions of the load and axle vary, means aording a variable resilient ac'- tioii between said load and axle, and means for varying the strength of said supporting l JosEPi-i WMYERS. 

